Utah Jazz Film Room: What is Kyle Filipowski’s path to having a role this season?

If there’s one word to describe Kyle Filipowski’s recent summer, it would be progression. After being pegged as a first-round pick and invited into the green room for the 2024 NBA Draft, he fell down to the 32nd pick. In his first stint with the Utah Jazz in the SLC Summer League, the former Duke Blue Devil struggled to adjust to the pace and physicality of the NBA game – evidenced by his lowly averages.

But as the games went on, Filipowski began to show more confidence and understanding of his role.

As the Las Vegas Summer League commenced, the 20-year-old big man was given a starter role – with Walker Kessler sitting out the whole tournament. That paved the way for Filipowski to get reps and be comfortable with the style of play in the professional ranks.

Indeed, it was the case for Filipowski as he amassed an impressive average of 16.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.8 stocks on 46/38/70 shooting splits in five games played. Beyond these numbers, what’s intriguing about his play is his adept and advanced processing of the game on the offensive end for a young player in the league.

However, a Summer League stretch should not be enough sample size to provide a predictive value for rookie prospects like Filipowski. Our primary objective here is to highlight the skills he already possesses and the viable low-hanging fruit role Filipowski can have with the Jazz in the regular

The laziest comparison for Filipowski will always be former Jazz man Kelly Olynyk. He obviously has the makings of being a good connector on offense – a guy you can trust to make decisions with the ball in his hands. The only difference is Filipowski’s skill set will have more room for growth.

Let’s first look at his passing chops. The 2.4 assists isn’t something that immediately jumps off the stat sheet, but Filipowski has shown the ability to map the court well. With the playbook of head coach Will Hardy focusing on 5-out sets, this is a good experience for him to become an offensive hub in space.

For this particular clip, Filipowski’s been willing to issue that pass to cutting players:

Another option that Filipowski can bank on is to become a great dribble hand-off guy, which flows into a two-man game. In this possession, the Jazz empty the side where Filipowski and Max Abmas are slotted to eliminate the possible help. He then takes advantage to roll hard to the basket en route for the and-1 opportunity.

This time, in the pick-and-roll (PnR), it’s interesting if he can be relied upon as a short roll threat to guys who have been helped off from the tag. Even though it resulted in a miss, the encouraging sign here is that Filipowski is seeing and doing the right play.

In the transition game, the astounding part with Filipowksi’s offensive package is his tight handles to push in the break – either going coast to coast or locating the wide open teammate. At his height, if everything pans out well for him in the long run – having a ball-handler like Filipowksi should pose mismatch problems and would make the Jazz offense even more potent.

Earlier, we mentioned how Filipowski can act as the playmaking big and can emphasize movement in the offense. When there is role reversal, the Jazz rookie displayed that he can become a moving target as well.

To sum up everything the film has shown us, Filipowski fits like a glove with the philosophy of the Jazz.

Kyle Filipowski’s Summer League journey has been more than just a brief showcase; it’s a testament to his potential and adaptability with the Jazz. Given the chance to suit up in the regular season, he definitely has the tools to carve out a meaningful role.

His progression is a promising sign for the long term plan’s of the Jazz, indicating that he can be a valuable asset for the team squad as they build for the future.